University Ranking 2025 – The most attractive Italian Universities by Osservatorio Economia

Enrollment trends reveal a massive shift: online and human-scale universities are attracting more students, while traditional big-city institutions face declining numbers.

Italy’s Most Attractive Universities 2025: A massive shake-up in Enrollment Trends

The Italian university landscape is changing rapidly. The latest Dossier Università 2025, produced by the Osservatorio Economia – National Observatory on Economics, has measured the real attractiveness of the Italian universities, identifying which institutions are currently attracting the most students, both in the short and medium-to-long term.

Here is the general finding of our research:

According to Dr. Davide Scialpi, Director of University Research – Ranking for the Observatory, “The Italian University landscape has changed. The allure of big-city universities with famous or prestigious names is fading. Provincial universities, student-friendly campuses, and especially online universities are taking the lead.”

Top “Super Attractive Universities” – SA Category V

The research and the related ranking identify Universities that have shown constant enrollment growth over the last 4 years. In the super attractive category, the top institutions are:

• Università Telematica Pegaso – Multiversity (4 years of growth) V – SA
• Università Mercatorum – Multiversity (4 years of growth)V – SA
• Università e-Campus (4 years of growth)V – SA
• Università degli Studi di Palermo (4 years of growth)V – SA
• Università degli Studi Roma Tre (4 years of growth)V – SA
• Università degli Studi di Perugia (4 years of growth)V – SA
• Università di Pavia (4 years of growth)V – SA
• Università di Napoli Parthenope (4 years of growth)V – SA
• Università delle Marche (4 years of growth)V – SA

These universities have not only grown constantly but also demonstrated the ability to create a compelling and modern University experience that adapts to student needs and wants, offering flexible and innovative learning opportunities.

“Attractive Universities” with growing Enrollments – A Category – V

17 additional universities were identified as attractive, showing constant growth over the past 3 years:

• Università di Catania (3 years of growth)V – A
• Università di Bari (3 years of growth)V – A
• Università della Valle d’Aosta (3 years of growth)V – A
• Università Napoli Benincasa (3 years of growth)V – A
• Università dell’Insubria (3 years of growth)V – A
• Università di Bolzano (3 years of growth)V – A
• Università di Trento (3 years of growth)V – A
• Politecnico di Bari (3 years of growth)V – A
• Università di Genova (3 years of growth)V – A
• Università Luiss (3 years of growth)V – A
• Università di Cagliari (3 years of growth)V – A
• Università di Trieste (3 years of growth)V – A
• Università del Sannio Benevento (3 years of growth)V – A
• Università di Catanzaro (3 years of growth) V – A
• Università di Reggio Calabria Mediterranea (3 years of growth)V – A
• Università di Macerata (3 years of growth)V – A
• Università dell’Aquila (3 years of growth)V – A

These universities are showing promising trends and are increasingly attractive to prospective students.

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Universities facing Enrollment Challenges – D Category X

Conversely, some historically prestigious and metropolitan universities are experiencing a significant decline in student numbers:

• In decline for 4 years (a 4 years long enrollment crisis):
  • Politecnico di Torino (4 years of decline), XXXX
  • Università Bicocca Milano(4 years of decline), XXXX
  • Ca’ Foscari Venezia (4 years of decline)XXXX

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• In decline for 3 years (a 3 years long enrollment crisis):
  • Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (3 years of decline), XXX
  • Università Tor Vergata Roma (3 years of decline), XXX
  • Università La Sapienza Roma (3 years of decline), XXX
  • Università IULM Milano (3 years of decline), XXX
  • Università di Messina (3 years of decline), XXX
  • Università del Piemonte Orientale (3 years of decline), XXX
  • Università di Napoli L’Orientale (3 years of decline)XXX

This trend highlights a broader shift: online universities and smaller, student-focused institutions are increasingly preferred over large, traditional city-based universities.

Key takeaways

• Online universities are now dominant players in Italy, leading enrollment growth and overtaking traditional private universities such as Catholic University, Luiss and Bocconi which now shift from category Leaders to Followers, as well as other well-known universities in the top-10 enrollment chart. In particular, Pegaso University has become the official number one private university in Italy and has entered the top 10 Italian universities by total student enrollment, dethroning the Catholic University in both rankings.
• Provincial and human-scale universities are gaining traction, as students prioritize accessibility, personalized experiences, and flexible learning options.
• The prestige of big-city universities no longer guarantees student attraction; adaptability, innovation, and online offerings are now decisive.

The Italian higher education sector is witnessing a significant transformation. Institutions that embrace flexibility, digital orientation, and student-centered approaches are thriving, while some historically renowned universities face a challenging future if they do not adapt.

The 2025 ranking of Universities by annual enrollment

This ranking shows the strength of Pegaso University, which made a strong entry at 10th place among the universities that recorded the highest enrollment levels in 2025, overtaking Università Cattolica (which is is now in 11th position, out of the top 10 for the first time).

Excellent performance from the University of Palermo and Catania as well. Turin is doing well and looks ready to overtake University of Bologna, which is slightly declining. Sapienza remains firmly at the top, but its loss of students over the past three years is starting to be significant. Statale is performing well, the only bright spot in Milan, and University of Florence and Padova are also doing well.

2025 Ranking of Private Universities by Student Enrollment

The ranking shows that Pegaso has claimed the number one spot, dethroning Cattolica University and pushing back Bocconi and LUISS to the middle of the rankings, overtaken also by Mercatorum and Ecampus. Cattolica, Bocconi, and LUISS are no longer leaders in their category.

Has the university world changed? We certainly believe it has. The data speak for themselves.

This research – ranking has been produced by the Osservatorio Economia and are based on a detailed analysis of MUR (Ministry of University and Research) enrollment data of the last 4 years (in the post-covid era).

The Italy’s Most Attractive Universities ranking is a ranking that analyses, quantifies and measures the #RealAttractiveness of the Italian Universities 

The purpose of this non-for profit research-ranking is to help stakeholders of all kind, including families, consumers, private and public organizations and students, gain a real, data-based picture of the Italian university landscape. The goal is to highlight the true scale and performance of universities, enabling more informed and conscious decisions, and to provide accurate information rather than being misled by deceptive PR campaigns or biased national and international private rankings that often depict a reality that does not exist.

Osservatorio Economia Team